


Ignite Your Bones

by sleepydanceur



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 12:39:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6520060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepydanceur/pseuds/sleepydanceur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Space!AU Baekchen side story to the Chankai original  <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/5721310">The Stars Will Guide You Home</a></p><p> </p><p>Title also taken from Coldplay's 'Fix you'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ignite Your Bones

**Author's Note:**

> It will definitely make more sense if you've read the first part, BUT not absolutely necessary I guess!  
> The first part, in a nutshell, is that Jongin's ship malfunctions and he gets stranded alone in space for nearly two months till Chanyeol finds him. His crew travels through space looking for other sources of life and water. Also they go through wormholes, which are super dangerous and painful to go through because no one's figured out how to bypass the force of the electromagnetic waves safely (till Jongin comes in uwu).
> 
> SO, this fic focuses on Baekchen, part of the crew on the ship ^^

Jongdae sets down the spanner he’s using on the bolts, rubbing the back of his hand across his sweaty forehead. He straightens up, stepping out of the engine room for a breather and stares out the window curiously. The small ship floating out there looks pretty battered, definitely having seen better days. It’s clearly earthbound, nothing like the ships that they come across every now and then voyaging through wormholes across space like they are. It doesn’t look equipped to be out here. Chanyeol went ahead alone, giving the order to dock the Vivapolo with the small ship the moment it showed up on their radar; said he wanted to have a word with the captain after seeing the damage the ship has taken. He’s still not back yet and Jongdae spares a moment to worry about all the things that could go wrong, contemplating the possibility of it being an ambush of some sort. Still, he’s aware that Chanyeol can protect himself just fine. 

A sharp smack to the back of his head snaps his attention away and he whips around to glare at Baekhyun. 

“You looked like you were spacing out,” Baekhyun sniggers, shrugging dismissively. Jongdae groans and rolls his eyes at his never ending slew of lame jokes. He settles for smacking his palm into Baekhyun’s chest, sighing when he looks back at the dented metal of the suspended ship outside, 

“Do you think anyone’s in there?”

“For their sake, I hope not,” Baekhyun says seriously, glancing out the window too. “Doesn’t look like a party in there.”

“Hang on, look,” Jongdae points at the connecting bridge between both ships. “He’s actually coming back with someone.”

Baekhyun grabs his elbow and drags him away, heading down to the docking port to see whoever’s coming aboard. They get there just as the doors slide open and Chanyeol steps inside, followed by a man carrying a cardboard box in his arms. Jongdae reels Baekhyun back behind the corner just before they walk into sight, urging him to stay hidden for now. It proves to be a good call when he sees the man freeze by the window, looking back out at his ship and Chanyeol murmurs something about giving him a moment. 

He backs away and walks right into them when he rounds the corner, nearly tripping over Baekhyun’s shoes. He yelps indignantly but Baekhyun waves him off.

“Who’s the new guy?”

Chanyeol sighs, tilting his chin to urge them forward before saying anything.

“His name’s Jongin, his ship malfunctioned and got pushed out of Orbit,” he starts, loosening the button around his collar. “He’s a quantum astrophysicist.”

Jongdae whistles. 

“Nice catch, Captain.”

Chanyeol grins excitedly, looking pleased. “Knew you guys would agree. I think he’d be really great with our crew, we could really use his help. Besides, his engines were completely busted, the whole ship was falling apart. I told him he could ride with us till we head back to Earth.”

“Wait,” Baekhyun stops in his tracks and they turn to look at him. “Was he alone in there?”

Chanyeol’s face grows serious, a troubled look flitting through his eyes. “Yeah.”

“For how long?” Jongdae asks, furrowing his eyebrows. 

Chanyeol starts walking again. “Too long.”

▸

Jongdae walks into Baekhyun's room just as he's pulling a shirt over his head, smoothing his hair down with his fingers when it fluffs up. The smell of his coconut soap is overwhelming, still fresh from a shower.

"Finally done with the reports?" Baekhyun asks, chuckling when Jongdae slumps face down on his bed, burying his nose in Baekhyun’s pillow.

"I fucking swear, next time _you're_ on intern duty," Jongdae grumbles, thinking about the mess they made out of the fuses in the generator room. It took his entire morning to set everything straight and then deal with writing up all the new reports for the day. Now he's just grumpy, hungry and his back aches from stooping over the electrical charges.

Baekhyun tosses his towel in the hamper and promptly climbs onto the bed with him on his knees, straddling the back of his thighs, just short of his butt. Jongdae groans when he pushes his knuckles into the muscles under his shoulder blades, kneading slow circles into his skin as he works his way down Jongdae's back.

"Not my fault you suck at rock, paper, scissors," Baekhyun says and Jongdae grunts into the pillow, enjoying the massage too much to make the effort to turn and glare at him.

"Besides, I was busy with the navigation board. Chanyeol said it's been acting up again."

Jongdae hums, yelping suddenly when Baekhyun hits a sore spot on his lower back.

"Speaking of Chanyeol," Baekhyun says pensively, rubbing circles along Jongdae's spine. "I think he's got a crush on the new guy."

Jongdae does turn at that, managing to twist himself enough to glance over his shoulder to see Baekhyun's face; he's completely serious.

"Jongin?" 

Baekhyun nods, pulling his hands away to cracks his fingers, squeezing the joints slowly. Jongdae's skin tingles in the absence. 

He's about to wave him off, dismissing the idea, but something stops him, fleeting memories of seemingly irrelevant moments he'd caught that slipped his mind. "Huh."

"Right?" Baekhyun says enthusiastically when Jongdae doesn't object. "I thought he was just being his Captain-y kind of friendly, but I caught him literally ogling the guy the other day."

Jongdae snorts; he's noticed the way Chanyeol softens whenever Jongin's around too. He's never paid enough attention to see if Jongin reciprocates it. Jongdae has been part of Chanyeol's crew for a long time, but this is the first time he's seen him looking anywhere close to actually harbouring a crush. It'd be a shame if it were one-sided, particularly considering that they're all confined to this ship for a while. Still; he doesn't know Jongin well enough to be able to ask him about it casually.

"I can hear your brain working," Baekhyun breaks through his thoughts, his fingers working their way up to his shoulders again. "I guess you really _do_ have one."

He smacks Jongdae's ass when he climbs off him and Jongdae tries to swat at him from where he is but Baekhyun just snickers and dances out of reach. Sighing, he slumps back against the sheets, too comfortable to get up, even though it's almost lunchtime. Maybe he'll just take a nap here; bonus if he can drool on Baekhyun's pillow.

▸

Weekends up here are always the best part. Jongdae loves his job, with all the sweat and grime that comes with working in different areas of the ship with the rest of the crew, but winding down from an extra hard week of labour always feel that much better. They're lucky Baekhyun thought to restock their alcohol stash on their last stop to Earth. There’s enough here to last them a good while now, for which they're all grateful.

The rest of the crew filters into the large common room in small groups, beelining for the makeshift bar counter to get a drink before moving off to chat or dance to the music blaring out in the background.

There was a time when they tried to amp the party up by turning off the gravity control in the room, which worked fine for a while until people started throwing up in midair, too drunk to handle it. Jongdae rubs at his throat absently, cringing at the memory. He downs the rest of his drink anyway, wincing at the burning sear of the alcohol before giving the room a once over. Baekhyun is over by the sound system, handling the music playlist on the computer screen while he chugs on his own drink.

"Jongdae!" Baekhyun beams at him when Jongdae makes his way to him through the throng of people in the room. His cheeks are already flushed, and Jongdae spots the number of empty cups already stacked up beside him. He snorts, stealing the cup in Baekhyun's hands just as the rim touches his lips and downs the rest of the drink himself.

"Can't just let you get drunk all by yourself," Jongdae grins when Baekhyun narrows his eyes at him.

"I'm touched," Baekhyun bats his eyelashes at him, holding a hand to his chest dramatically. He turns the laptop around, beckoning Jongdae to it. "Set up the rest of the playlist, I'll get refills."

Jongdae gladly takes charge, pulling up a list of songs as Baekhyun steps aside, a little wobbly when he steps over the tangle of wires on the floor. His finger hovers over the ballad section, then immediately exits the category, remembering that both Baekhyun and he are weepy drunks.

Baekhyun comes back with the drinks, leaning against Jongdae's back with his chin propped up on Jongdae's shoulder lazily. He blows into his ear, giggling and hanging on tightly when Jongdae tries to shake him off.

"Hey. Wanna test that theory?" Baekhyun says suddenly, blowing on him again and Jongdae can smell the alcohol on his breath.

"What theory?" Jongdae syncs up the new playlist, and pushes the laptop aside safely, away from any clumsy spills.

Baekhyun brings a hand up over Jongdae's shoulder from behind, pushing a hand against his cheek to guide his eyes over to where he's looking. Jongdae follows his direction, immediately spotting Chanyeol sitting on the couch next to Jongin, pressed into his side even though the rest of the couch is empty.

Jongin's laughing at something, smacking his knee and bumping into Chanyeol's side each time with the force of his laughter, probably already tipsy himself too. Jongdae snickers at the dopey look on Chanyeol's face.

"What's the plan?"

He can feel Baekhyun grinning against his shoulder where he's still stubbornly hooking his chin.

"Follow my lead."

Jongdae probably should have spared a second to consider the consequences of leaving it in a near drunk Baekhyun's hands but he's too buzzed to be the rational thinker here. Besides; the look on Chanyeol's face when Baekhyun throws himself down on the couch, wriggling to make space between Chanyeol and Jongin is beyond priceless.

"Great party, right?" Baekhyun says brightly, and Jongdae tries not to laugh hysterically at the way Chanyeol's face darkens. Jongin just nods happily, clinking his cup with Baekhyun's when he holds it out and they down their drinks together.

Jongdae gets rid of his own drink, wiping his lips and makes a move when he figures Chanyeol has had enough. Baekhyun is wheezing when Jongdae reaches out for his hand, laughing uncontrollably as he lets Jongdae tug him up and away from between the pair. They stumble for balance, with enough alcohol in their systems to make the lights spin dizzily.

"Nailed it," Jongdae chuckles and Baekhyun laughs harder.

They get roped into a game of charades when Sooyoung and Minho stumble over, already drunk out of their minds. Regardless, they manage to split themselves into two teams, somehow getting incredibly competitive even though everyone's too wobbly to even play the game properly.

He's not sure how it happens but at some point Jongdae winds up slouched over under Baekhyun's weight where he's leapt onto his back during his turn, trying to mime something that Jongdae can't see. The drinks keep coming and their laughter grows progressively more raucous; Jongdae briefly catches sight of Chanyeol thumping on Jongin's back before Baekhyun slings his arms around Jongdae's neck, effectively dragging them both down to the floor in a heap.

They're both very drunk by the time they stumble out of the common room, bumping into the walls of the corridors on wobbly legs and hanging on to each other though it throws them off balance more than it holds them up. Jongdae's giggling too hard to focus where they're going, following Baekhyun inside when he manages to work the door open to his bedroom. Another few steps and Jongdae feels the mattress coming up to meet his face, groaning in relief at the feeling of the soft sheets against his skin. There's movement; Baekhyun wriggling into a comfortable position beside him before stilling with a sigh. Jongdae shivers without the sheets over him but his limbs are too heavy to coordinate. He rolls onto his side, shimmying closer to Baekhyun's warmth in the dark and finally falls asleep.

The thundering headache is what jolts him awake first, followed by the sudden ache in his limbs and his spine. Jongdae cracks his eyes open, blinking the blurriness away to find Baekhyun sleeping next to him, his face half buried in his pillow, still deep asleep. It's then that he registers the weight of Baekhyun's arm thrown loosely around his waist and the bones of Baekhyun's ankles pressed around his own.

They've done this before, sleeping in the same bed after a party or that one time the heater broke in Jongdae's room. This time, though, Jongdae's heart stops for a moment. Something about this time feels charged; intimate. He lies there frozen, considering slipping out before Baekhyun wakes up to save them the awkwardness. He nearly does until Baekhyun snuffles and shifts closer in his sleep. Jongdae can see the damp stain on the pillow where he's been drooling and stifles a snort. This isn't uncomfortable. There's never been a moment where being around Baekhyun has made him feel awkward or uncomfortable. The urge to run away tamps down, and Jongdae feels almost ashamed, though he pushes that thought to the back of his mind along with the buzzing of other feelings that he'd rather deal with later. So, he just closes his eyes again and stays where he is, gratefully letting sleep drag him under again.

▸

HD 85512b is mostly just a rocky landscape as far as the eye can see, a lot more centred around a palette of dull browns and greys than the greenland planet they went to before this. There’s still no sign of any flora or sources of water yet as far as Jongdae can tell. He rubs his hands together for warmth when the temperature drops the deeper they head into the crevice between the high rising walls, thankful that he remembered to put on an extra layer of clothes underneath his trekking jumpsuit. 

Minseok calls out to them from where’s he’s squatting by something on the ground and he follows after Chanyeol curiously, wondering if they’ve actually managed to find water already. 

“What is it?” Chanyeol drops down on his haunches to get a closer look and Jongdae peers over his shoulder, watching the dials on the electrowave device Minseok is tweaking in his hands. 

His attention is drawn back to the mound they’re surrounding when Chanyeol latches onto something, pulling a rod out from the opening beneath it. It’s hard to tell what it is with all the dust and grime sticking to it. Chanyeol frowns, struggling to clean it off and get a good look at it. 

“This-” 

Jongdae’s blood goes cold and he recognizes it before Chanyeol even says it. 

“New Terra Steel.”

They need to get out of here. Chanyeol shares that thought, dropping the rod immediately and straightening up. Jongdae reaches for Kyungsoo’s elbow where he’s standing beside him, starting to draw him back when he doesn’t move but they don’t even make it two steps before the sharp whistle of a projectile pierces right past them, exploding in the dirt mere feet from them. Pirates. 

“Run!” Chanyeol roars, and that’s all it takes to set them off, tearing down in the opposite direction of where their ship is. 

Jongdae takes off running, chasing after the others where they're tearing ahead of him. He can hear his blood pounding in his ears, the urgency of the danger they're in giving an extra kick to his step. Still, it's hard to see where he's running with the clouds of dust being kicked up under everyone's footsteps and the explosions in the ground from the plasma guns. Jongdae trips over a rock, stumbling off balance before crashing down hard on his knees. His oxygen mask slips out of place with the impact and he scrambles to set it right again, wincing as he tries to push himself up. The sudden hand around his arm startles him but he registers Chanyeol hauling up and out of the line of fire again, urging him to keep running.

There’s rocks and larger chunks of the walls crashing down around them as they go and Jongdae cuts his hand on a sharp edge when he throws himself against the wall to dodge another volley of plasma beams. Wheezing, he pushes on, following Chanyeol's lead.

There's no time to think about it when a fork comes up ahead, splitting three ways in different directions. They need to break up the troop of pirates behind them. Jongdae keeps running straight ahead, taking the middle path as the rest go their separate ways. There's no time, but his heart still drops to the pit of his stomach when he loses sight of Baekhyun.

The strategy works. The plasma beams keep coming but the constant volley has lessened now that they’ve divided the group. Jongdae's legs are starting to feel like lead but he powers on, slapping a hand against Chanyeol's shoulder when he manages to match his pace. It's starting to seem like there's no end in sight, with nothing but the two high walls closing them in, but stopping to take a breather is not an option. The next plasma beam that just misses his head by a hair's breadth drives that point home even harder. He wonders if the others have gotten to safety yet.

The path ahead finally starts to widen, opening up the further they run until Jongdae can finally see an exit point at the other end. The sight of it gives him another burst of energy and he hurtles towards it desperately. The second they break out of the caging walls, Chanyeol grabs his elbow to yank him onto another path, leading around the mountain of walls where they can circle back to the ship where they left it.

Jongdae's lungs are burning by this point, barely able to breathe, but he catches sight of Kyungsoo joining Sehun up ahead, having made it out before them. It's risky but he can't help looking over his shoulder, relieved when he sees Minseok emerging too, staggering a little before Junmyeon yanks him straight and urges him forward. Jongdae nearly trips over his own feet, craning his neck to look back while still moving forward but Baekhyun is nowhere to be seen and neither is Jongin. 

There’s no time to process that before more pirates leap out at them, having figured out their route. Jongdae snaps his head forward dodges the attacks raining down on them again; this time they're coming at them from close range. They scale the mountain walls with inhuman speed, launching themselves right at them. Chanyeol tries to ward them off with another rod he finds on the ground, smashing it right into the next pirate that lunges at them. Still, they're swarming in around them like a nest of spiders.

It feels like they’re running forever until the ship _finally_ comes into sight. Sooyoung and Byulyi are stationed by the entrance, sending back a laser volley of their own at the pirates to keep them off their backs while they run. Jongdae briefly feels the weight of a hand dragging his shoulder down before Sooyoung's precisely aimed laser blasts it away. 

The engines are already running when Jongdae throws hims inside, quickly throwing a hand out to help Minseok clamber up the ramp too. He wheezes against the familiar steel wall, bumping his fist into Sooyoung's gratefully. Junmyeon brings up the rear and staggers inside after them.

"Seal the entrance!" Chanyeol bellows, straightening up from where Kyungsoo's nursing a twisted ankle on the floor. He calls Byulyi to his side. "Bring her up."

Byulyi’s brows tug together, looking concerned but she nods, marching over to the com on the wall to give the order to the navigators.

Jongdae feels a bubble of panic in his chest, scrambling to his feet in alarm when he feels the ship shifting into motion.

“Wait you can’t!” he gasps, grappling to hold onto Chanyeol’s arm as he gives the order. “They’re still out there- Baekhyun- we can’t leave-”

“We need to get the ship out first,” Chanyeol says, frowning deeper than Jongdae has ever seen him. 

“But they’re-”

“Jongdae, I know!” Chanyeol cuts him off frantically, setting a hand on his shoulder heavily. His eyes are frenzied, as anxious about this as he is. “We’re not leaving them. But I need to get everyone else out first, it’s not safe here; we’re all in danger. I need you to back me up.”

He stares at him, urging him to understand and Jongdae draws in a shuddering breath, nodding. 

“Of course, Captain.” 

He grasps Chanyeol’s elbow lightly before following him up to the navigation room, to help where he can. 

He catches sight of the view out the window, sparing a few precious seconds to take in the planet below falling away as the Vivapolo takes off and puts more and more distance between them. Jongdae’s stomach drops but he tears his eyes away determinedly and heads off to work on getting the small shuttle ready for departure, as Chanyeol had asked. He said he’d get them back and Jongdae trusts him. 

Once the Vivapolo is in the clear, a good distance away from the planet enough that there’s no risk for another attack, Chanyeol climbs into the shuttle and pushes out from the docking port in the ship. Jongdae stands by the window and watches him descend back to where they’d just come, keeping his hands fisted in the sides of his pants anxiously. There’s nothing left for him to do now but wait and hope that they all come back safely. He thumbs at the bandages Jaebum had wrapped neatly around his hand, protecting the now cleaned up gash he had stretching along his palm. It stings a little numbly but his thoughts are all over the place, too apprehensive to spare it much thought. 

Chanyeol is gone for all of fifteen minutes but it feels like hours have gone by before Jongdae spots the shuttle coming back, heading for the docking port. He can see the scorch marks and bashes in the sides of the shuttle, clearly having taken some damage in the short time that Chanyeol was down there. 

The door slides open the second the shuttle is reeled into place and Chanyeol hops out with Jongin following after him. Craning his neck, Jongdae tries to peer over them into the ship, searching anxiously for Baekhyun.

He's pushed out of the way when Soojung and Yixing rush in with a gurney, and Jaebum clambers into the shuttle stepping carefully into the back seat space. Jongdae finally sees him when Jaebum starts to hoist him up slowly, beckoning Yixing to help to help with the weight.

Jongdae inhales sharply. A painful ringing starts up in his ears and his heart stops for two, three seconds, maybe longer even. Baekhyun's face is so pale Jongdae can barely even see his lips. He's weak, so weak he's barely even moving, his head lolling back weakly against Jaebum's shoulder.

It takes a few moments until they've set him down on the gurney for Jongdae to realize how drenched in blood he is. It's everywhere, all over his middle, splattered across his neck and staining his hands and arms. Jongdae can't move, paralyzed, rooted to the spot. His feet won't respond when he tries to move closer, the ringing piercing deafeningly in his ears as Baekhyun's eyelids flutter, catching his eye for the briefest second. He throws him a weak smile just before his eyes slide shut and his body suddenly starts to convulse, thrashing on the gurney uncontrollably. 

"He's going into shock!" Soojong yells, urgently yanking the stretcher into motion to cart him away to the medbay. “He’s been poisoned!”

Jaebum clears the way and Yixing works on ripping the bloodied clothes off of Baekhyun's front.

It’s only when Baekhyun's taken around the corner, out of his sight, for Jongdae's body to finally move, heart in his throat as he skirts after them and follows them into the medbay.

There's just so much blood. Baekhyun is deathly pale, looking like he’s on the verge of shattering completely, still and unmoving where they've lain him. Jongdae wants to move closer but he's suddenly scared to touch him; scared to feel his hands go cold.

They hook him up to a cluster of wires and the monitor immediately starts beeping erratically. Yixing nudges him out of the way, yelling at everyone to get out and give them space when Baekhyun’s vitals start tanking. Soojung ushers everyone out of the room quickly, firmly closing the door before running back to help Yixing stabilize Baekhyun.

Jongdae belatedly realizes how hard his hands are shaking. His face feels numb, feeling a little woozy when a wave of dizziness washes over him and he leans back against the wall out in the hallway, staring at the closed door of the medbay.

A hiss draws his attention away and he turns to find Jaebum out there with them, working on Jongin's head instead. He cleans up the bloody wound on his scalp, patching him up with the medical kit he grabbed out of the medbay before leaving the others to work undisturbed.

Jongdae watches Jongin grunt in pain while Jaebum works and finally notices how shell shocked he looks, pale and grimy, covered in blood that’s probably mostly Baekhyun’s even though he’s sporting his own share of injuries. He feels a little guilty that he barely took any notice earlier the moment they arrived, his tunnel vision too focused on Baekhyun to see much else. 

Dropping down on his haunches, he sets a hand on Jongin's kneecap, squeezing lightly as Jaebum goes on. Jongin tries to smile at him gratefully but winces when Jaebum presses down on his scalp.

"Glad you're alright," Jongdae says sincerely, trying to pull his attention away from the pain. Jongin manages the smile this time, squeezing Jongdae's fingers on his knee back.

"All done," Jaebum straightens up and pats Jongin on the shoulder, moving to clear up around them and put everything back in the med kit.

Jongin sighs in relief, his shoulders slumping and Jongdae helps him to his feet, immediately scooping him up into a hug. He’s the last member to join their crew after the rest of them had already been together for a long time. Enough time has passed now that they've all grown pretty close to him regardless, but, from what Jongdae's gathered, Jongin has been through his own fair share of hell back when he was left out in space alone, before Chanyeol invited him onto the Vivapolo. He didn't need to put himself through that again. Jongin doesn't owe them anything but he still stayed behind with Baekhyun despite everything.

Chanyeol is busy trying to get everything back into gear, checking the ship's vitals and scanning the damage report to see how much work it'll take to fix it all. He gives out the order, getting the navigator to set them onto another route. putting a safer distance between them and any more potential pirate attacks. 

He hauls the rest of the field team into the cafeteria to put some food in their stomachs and wind down from the whole ordeal. Jongin quietly coaxes Jongdae away from the medbay, murmuring that there's nothing more they can do for now. It feels like his limbs grow heavier the further he steps away from the door, but he lets Jongin guide him away nonetheless.

The others are already there, piling food onto their plates ravenously and sitting down at the tables to devour it. Everyone looks a little banged up; Kyungsoo's still icing his swollen ankle and Minseok is nursing his bruised knuckles, but beyond a few bangs and scrapes they all seem to be in one piece.

Jongin still looks pale and rather shaken. Feeling a sudden burst of protectiveness, Jongdae slides more food onto Jongin's plate, returning the smile when Jongin beams at him in surprise.

He doesn't eat much himself, too nauseous to even try and stomach anything. His mind is still back in the med bay, a sickening mixture of tense and impatient for Yixing to come out and tell them that Baekhyun's gonna be okay. 

Lunch is mostly a quiet affair anyhow, all of them still trying to process what just happened and ease away the shock. Once everyone's done eating, they file out of the cafeteria, heading off to clean up before taking over their routine duties again around the ship.

Jongdae goes back to wait outside the medbay where the door is still closed. He paces around restlessly, running a hand through his hair, feeling his heart dropping heavily in his chest with every minute that ticks by. Honestly, he's never noticed how quiet it is out here in the hallway alone. It's stifling. Baekhyun's usually the rowdy one making all the noise like there's ten other people with them. 

Jongdae leans back against the cool steel wall and slides down to sit on the floor even though he’s far too jittery to stay still. Something lodges in his throat and he drops his head in his hands, his elbows braced on his knees as he tries to control his breathing before he breaks down completely. 

He barely even hears the door sliding open through the pounding in his ears, only noticing Soojung when her shoes come into sight right in front of him. She looks surprised to find him on the floor but smiles at him gently, dropping down to his level to squeeze his shoulder. 

“He's gonna be fine. Yixing’s just cleaning up around him.”

Jongdae’s breath rushes out shakily, his chest expanding almost painfully in relief. Scrambling to his feet, he nods at Soojung gratefully when she turns to leave, presumably to go update Chanyeol. 

He swallows through the tightness in his throat, his hand suddenly hesitating on the door handle before going in. It was barely even a few hours ago that he saw Baekhyun covered in his own blood, deathly pale and motionless. 

He steps inside slowly, and falters when he sees Baekhyun lying on the cot, looking almost as pale as the sheets he's on. His eyes are closed but he's breathing shallowly, and all the blood is gone. Jongdae barely even notices Yixing there, going a little dizzy with the way the pit of his stomach drops. Yixing almost looks like he wants to kick him out but softens at the pleading look in Jongdae’s eyes.

“He needs to rest,” he says simply, reaching up to squeeze Jongdae’s shoulder. “He’ll be out for a while.”

Jongdae nods and moves in close by Baekhyun’s side, reaching out for his hand. It’s a little cold, and Jongdae squeezes it between his own to warm it up even if Baekhyun won’t feel it. He swallows through the lump in his throat, blinking through the prickling in his eyes, grateful to all the stars in the universe that Baekhyun's alive. 

There’s nowhere to sit so he pulls up a low footstool closer to the cot and sits on it, holding him up just high enough to lean his face on his arm on the side of the bed. He feels drained and the soft sheets under his skin feel heavenly. He doesn't take his eyes off Baekhyun, watching the soft rise and fall of his chest. Somehow, it lulls him into a light doze, exhausted enough that he’s pulled under fairly easily. 

He wakes up to soft fingers in his hair, barely brushing against his scalp, just twisting locks of his hair around. Baekhyun’s finally awake. Startled, Jongdae scrambles to his feet and takes him in, relief crashing through him like a tidal wave, hollowing out his chest.

“You stink,” Baekhyun smiles at him weakly, a mere shadow of the usual spark in his eyes. His voice is hoarse, scratchy with misuse. 

“You look like shit,” Jongdae counters, acutely aware of how tightly he’s holding onto Baekhyun’s hand. 

He’s never once been at a loss for words around Baekhyun but somehow Jongdae finds himself floundering for something to say to him, words failing him as his throat closes up.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he finally manages , quietly. That's putting it mildly, but it's all he can muster up right now. 

Baekhyun smiles again, giving him a slow once over. "You too."

Jongdae lets go of his hand for a moment to call Yixing back through the com on the wall, standing aside as Yixing checks on him to see that everything's alright. He works through the number of tubes and wires Baekhyun's hooked up on, adding a number of fluids to it. 

He wants to laugh when Baekhyun whines at Yixing for banning him from solid food for a while but he can't quite manage it. At least Baekhyun's acting a little more like himself even if it's a far cry from his usual. 

When Yixing sweeps out after he's done, Baekhyun looks exhausted again. Even the effort of talking that much has worn him out. 

"Is Jongin alright?" Baekhyun asks suddenly, his brows furrowing.

Jongdae nods, managing a small smile. 

"Does it hurt?"

Jongdae looks up to see Baekhyun's eyes fixed on his hand bound in gauze. He looks like he wants to reach out and touch it but the effort seems like too much. 

"No," he says, taking a step closer to let Baekhyun's knuckles brush against the gauze without him having to move. Baekhyun nods satisfied, more to himself than anything else, and works up a weary smile. 

He asks to see Jongin after a while and Jongdae takes his leave when he gets there, letting them have their privacy. He heads back to his room, suddenly aware of how filthy he feels. The shower water burns hot against his skin but his muscles start to relax and he sighs heavily. A hot prickle starts up in the corners of his eyes again but he rubs it away and scrubs the soap into his skin roughly, washing away all the dirt and sweat.

▸

The exhaustion of the day seeps right into his bones, his entire body completely worn out, but sleep still evades him as he lies in bed, tossing and turning in frustration, unable to settle down. Sighing, Jongdae throws his legs over the edge of the mattress, running a hand through his hair. He checks the time; it’s just shy of 2am up here. 

Slipping into his shoes, he pulls a hoodie on over the baggy t-shirt he uses to sleep in and pads out of his room silently, making his way over to the med bay. The door slides open with a quiet hiss and Jongdae peers inside, seeing the shape of Baekhyun's body, rising and falling with his breathing. The thin mattress dips a little under Jongdae's weight when he sits on the edge but Baekhyun doesn't wake at the movement. He can't even see Baekhyun's face clearly in the dim light of the room but hearing his steady breathing is enough to soothe the antsy ache behind Jongdae’s ribs.

Jongdae shifts, moving a little higher on the bed to sit more comfortably and the movement finally rouses Baekhyun. He doesn't say anything, grumbling incoherently under his breath as he shifts to accommodate him, tugging Jongdae to lie down even though it's a tight fit. Baekhyun stills a few seconds later, his breathing going back to its slow, steady rhythm again. Jongdae's eyelids grow heavy, the sleep that was evading him finally crashing down on him all in one go and he lets himself succumb to it.

 

He's not sure how many hours of sleep he manages to get through before he's suddenly jolted awake again by a sudden movement. Jongdae cracks his eyes open in time to see Baekhyun shooting upright on the bed, scrambling for something on the nightstand by his side. The clatter of the steel bowl rings sharply in the silence of the room and Baekhyun throws up straight into the bowl, heaving and coughing wetly. 

The drowsiness is shaken right out of his system and Jongdae sits up next to him, rubbing his back gently and holding him steady when Baekhyun is sick in the bowl again. Must be the aftereffects of the Terra steel poison that hasn't quite cycled out of his system yet. Slipping off the cot, Jongdae pads over to get him a glass of water and a handful of tissues, pushing them into his hands when he's done with the bowl. Baekhyun nods gratefully, his hand a little shaky when he raises the glass to his lips, slurping the water noisily. 

"Fucking pirates," he whispers hoarsely and Jongdae chuckles as he climbs back on beside him and eases him down on the pillow again slowly. 

"Don't blame me if I puke on you in the night," he says, coughing out a laugh when Jongdae pinches the skin on the back of his hand. He turns his palm up for Jongdae to slide his fingers in between his own, settling their linked hands on the sheets between them. 

"You're safe," Jongdae murmurs quietly. Baekhyun holds on to his hand tightly until he manages to fall asleep again.

▸

Baekhyun is released from the medbay a couple of days later, under strict orders to take it easy and take another week off strenuous work in the engine room. Yixing sends him off with a batch of pain medications and antibiotics with strict instructions to take them on time. Jongdae smugly leaps at the opportunity to slap him with the mountain of report work that needs to be done; the outraged look on Baekhyun's face is work all the vengeful sharp jabs in his side. 

Still; Baekhyun's wounds are gradually healing and he's getting better but he hasn't quite bounced back from it yet, no matter how chipper he behaves. Jongdae doesn't catch on at first until he wakes up feeling parched in the middle of the night and pads over to the main kitchen only to find Baekhyun already there. He's been having trouble sleeping lately through the lingering stabs of pain and discomfort.

"It's just- it's hard to close my eyes," Baekhyun says wearily, suddenly looking overwhelmingly drained.

He doesn't go into it much, running his fingers through his hair and forcing out a chuckle, as though trying to ease the weight of his thoughts. Jongdae doesn’t push, sitting by him quietly, waiting. Baekhyun's been pacing through the corridors too, trying to will time away in the night.

"Else it feels like I'm drowning in my own blood again," Baekhyun murmurs quietly, clenching his fingers a little more tightly around the mug cupped between his palms. Another forced laugh.

The night trips go on until Jongdae decides to drag two sleeping bags up into the planetarium dome one night and brings Baekhyun with him. He's always found this place to be the calmest spot on the ship to be with your thoughts.

Baekhyun doesn't object, even bringing up a giant bag of crisps with them to munch on contently. He hasn't lost his appetite at least. Jongdae pulls out a fistful of crisps for himself too, not bothering about the crumbs. Baekhyun gets up to change the settings on the planetarium glass, bringing out the colours in the nebulas beyond the stars, sighing quietly as he settles back down in his sleeping bag and stares up at them, transfixed.

"That one looks like a dick," Baekhyun declares, pointing out a constellation of stars with a somewhat phallic cloud of colour over them. 

Jongdae bursts out laughing, setting Baekhyun off too even as he tries to find more genitals in the stars. The low hum of the ship's engines thrumming beneath them is soothing even when they fall back into silence, comfortable with the sounds of their steady breathing to fill the quiet. 

“I really thought I would die there.”

Jongdae turns to look at him when Baekhyun starts quietly. It takes a moment but Baekhyun tears his eyes away from the stars to face him too.

"Thought I wasn't gonna come back," he says thickly, swallowing when his voice shakes. 

"But you did," Jongdae answers softly, well aware that it still doesn't make up for the entire ordeal itself. 

"I did," Baekhyun says, sucking in a deep breath before exhaling slowly. "Couldn't let you wreck this ship by yourself."

Jongdae scoffs but reaches out to bump his knuckles against Baekhyun’s, feeling Baekhyun’s fingers curling around his own. It helps make him feel anchored down, even when they’re floating through a universe with no gravity; he can only hope it makes Baekhyun feel the same way.

Neither of them is sleepy, but Baekhyun looks a lot more relaxed, less wound up. The haunted look lingering in the shadows of his expression starts to fade away. Grinning, Jongdae sits up and rummages through the bag he'd brought up with him, pulling out a bottle of wine he snagged from the alcohol cabinet down below. Smiling widely, he dangles it in from of Baekhyun's face, pleased when he sits up and grins back gleefully. Nothing distracts better than hard alcohol.

"You should have opened with that," Baekhyun chides him, working the cork off to take a swing straight from the bottle. Jongdae takes it from him for a mouthful of his own, sighing at the taste it leaves on his tongue. He shifts his sleeping bag closer to Baekhyun's, sprawling across Baekhyun's lap comfortably for lack of an actual pillow. Baekhyun doesn't seem to mind, flattening his sweaty palm over Jongdae's face just to make him yelp in disgust.

▸

Baekhyun somehow ropes him into taking charge of Junmyeon's birthday party decorations with him. They go all out with the sparkles and streamers, having a little too much fun with the helium balloons before they get too lightheaded to continue. 

“Do you think we've gone a little overboard?” Jongdae muses, staring around at the explosion of colours splashed across every inch of the room. 

“Nah, it’s perfect,” Baekhyun shrugs, tucking in another roll of streamers over a chair. 

Jackson brings the cake in just before the party starts, outdoing himself again with the giant two tier cake he sets down carefully on the table. There's enough icing on it to give them all cavities. 

Jongdae is pleasantly buzzed by the time the party is in full swing, chuckling when Junmyeon totters past with a party hat strapped to his head. He scans the room, looking for Baekhyun through the throng of people. The loud guffaw that rings out even over the loud music tells him exactly where to go, finding him squashed on the small couch between Taehyung and Byulyi. 

There’s nowhere else to sit and Baekhyun immediately latches onto his hand and tugs him down to sit right in his lap, winding an arm around his waist to hold him there. Chuckling, Jongdae leans back and wraps an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders in turn, planting his elbow on his shoulder to play with his hair, tugging on a lock by his ear. 

Jackson suggests a game of truth or dare which has them all groaning but they join in anyway. They find an empty beer bottle lying around, using it to spin around in the middle while they’re loosely circled around it. 

The game gets pretty heated up the more rounds they get through and the more alcohol they down, setting progressively more outrageous dares each time. The bottleneck finally lands on Baekhyun even though Jongdae is still planted in his lap. It’s Jackson’s call to set the dare, looking moments away from keeling over and passing out drunk.

“Baekhyunnie,” he slurs, falling over on Mark’s lap who’s sitting beside him, laughing. “You gotta pick your favourite person here and really lay one on them!”

Baekhyun laughs loudly, his arms squeezing around Jongdae’s middle. Jongdae feels his head tilt closer, nuzzling him from behind and before he knows it, Baekhyun’s warm lips are pressed into the back of his neck, lingering there for a few seconds. Jongdae’s stomach swoops sharply, barely hearing Jackson’s indignant cry about cheating.

“You didn’t specify where,” Baekhyun says smugly, digging his chin into Jongdae’s shoulder. The smell of his cologne is almost overwhelming from this vicinity, musky and sweet. Jongdae leans back into his hold; it’s always been comfortable with Baekhyun. That’s what Jongdae focuses on to take his mind off the thundering in his chest.

▸

It's a busy day today. The next wormhole is coming up just ahead and the ship needs to be prepped for the trip before they go through it. Chanyeol has the whole crew following the new system, having already briefed them on the method they're going to try using Jongin's algorithm.

Jongdae scans the instructions on the tablet Chanyeol gives him, running the numbers in line with the ship’s specs. Impressed, he hands it off to the rest of the engineer team, and nods at Sooyoung who's heading off the programmer team.

"This is pretty impressive," Jongdae says when he catches up with Baekhyun, already working on the generator systems.

"He's a smart kid," Baekhyun says, almost fondly. He beckons Jongdae to help him hoist the control box out. "Do you think it'll work?"

Going through the wormholes has always been an ordeal for all of them. Jongdae remembers how bad Baekhyun’s last episode was, throwing up blood through his heavy nosebleed, squeezing pained tears from his eyes. Jongdae gets his own fair share of side effects from each wormhole entry, a splitting migraine and temporary tinnitus, coupled with the nauseating surging in his stomach but nothing close to the way it hits Baekhyun.

Jongdae purses his lips, saved from answering the question when Sooyoung's voice comes in through the com, asking if they're all set and good to go. Baekhyun heads off to check on the rest of the team, double checking all the controls and gauges to make sure everything is calibrated precisely in line with Jongin's specifications.

He slings his arm around Jongdae's shoulders as they head back to the cockpit to strap themselves into the safety seats. There's no guarantee that this is even going to work, no matter how much they want it to. The ride tends to get pretty bumpy in itself, before the electromagnetic waves even hit them. Jongdae spots Chanyeol sitting next to Jongin across the room, grinning at his lack of discretion.

Baekhyun has gone quiet beside him, his knuckles going white where he's keeping them clenched on his knees. For all they know, this might make it worse. Jongdae swallows nervously but tamps it down and reaches over to nudge at Baekhyun’s fist with his finger, coaxing him into loosening them up. Baekhyun flicks at his fingers like he's swatting a fly away, playful as always. Still, he holds his hand open, and waits for Jongdae to advance again, holding onto him properly as the ship begins to rattle and shake.

“Alright everyone, hold on tight!” Chanyeol calls out when the pilots give the signal.

The rattling gets harder, jerking them around in their seats as they penetrate the first layer of waves emanating from the wormhole. Jongdae squeezes his eyes shut, trying to hold his head steady to make sure his neck doesn’t crack and tightens his jaw. He vaguely registers Baekhyun's other palm coming up to cover the back of Jongdae's hand in his own, squeezing it tightly like it's the point of steadiness through the rough ride.

He wonders how his brain isn't rattling all over his skull, resisting the urge to open his mouth to yell and risk biting his tongue off. It's reaching near earthquake levels of rattling by this point until it all stops abruptly, and everything goes jarringly silent.

Jongdae coughs out an exhale, relieved that his lungs are still functioning. This ship is steady again, more or less in one piece from what he can gauge with a quick once over. Seulgi unbuckles quickly and heads over to the navigation control panel, tapping in the command to check the stats and Chanyeol joins her, pulling the protective screen away from the cockpit window. 

"We're clear!"

The entire room erupts in a clamour of cheers and clapping and Jongdae fights his seat belt off to turn to Baekhyun excitedly, who's working on doing the same. Instinctively, he reaches up to slide his thumb across Baekhyun's upper lip just under his nose, coming away clean with no traces of blood. He looks up to see Baekhyun smiling so hard his eyes are curving into crescents. His throat tightens and his stomach twists but Jongdae would rather let it churn than look away.

▸

“Why,” Baekhyun huffs, heaving the heavy grate up and pushing it aside, “is it always the fucking boilers.”

Jongdae grunts in reply, hauling the bag of tools in after them when they step into the boiler shafts. Something’s wrong with the pipes again, faulty as they are. He makes a note to drill a full ship renovation into Chanyeol’s to-do list when they get back to Earth. 

“Let’s get this over with,” he sighs, opening up the control box on the wall. It’s like a furnace down here, the heat seeping right through his overalls, the material sticking to his skin uncomfortably with the sweat. 

It’s a long, arduous process to get through the entire system and find out where the problem is coming from. Baekhyun eventually finds the fault down by the very last set of pipes they were going through, because of course. 

Once the job is done, they crawl out of the stifling boiler room, slumping down by the wall at the entrance to take a break, sweaty and tired. They need to stay down here a while longer till they get the okay from above that everything’s working fine before heading back. 

Jongdae pulls up the collar of his shirt to mop the sweat off his face, sighing gratefully at the water bottle Baekhyun hands him after taking a mouthful himself. He gulps it down, relishing the way it cools him off, easing his dry throat. 

“I’m starving,” he whines dolefully when his stomach grumbles loudly. As if on cue, Baekhyun digs his hand into his pocket and pulls out a small chocolate bar.

“Boy, I sure am glad I thought to bring this down with me,” he says, pointedly smug as he tears the wrapping off and takes a giant bite from it, halfing it down. He moans dramatically, munching slowly and waves what’s left of the bar in front of Jongdae’s face tauntingly, whipping it back when Jongdae tries to make a grab at it. 

Huffing, Jongdae lunges at it again but Baekhyun scrambles to his feet, holding it up high above his head. 

“Asshole,” Jongdae grumbles, watching as Baekhyun sticks the last piece right between his teeth tauntingly, laughing without biting down on it. 

Pushing himself up to his feet too, Jongdae doesn't think about it, springing forward to bite on the short protruding end of the bar, swooping in close to Baekhyun's face and snatching it away with his own teeth. It's small enough that their lips brush together before he pulls away. Jongdae bites down on the piece, chuckling as he munches on it triumphantly but Baekhyun stands there frozen, looking a little stunned. 

His laughter falters and Jongdae swallows down his mouthful slowly. The back of his neck burns with the way Baekhyun looks at him, like something's finally fallen into place. The air feels thick between them, the heaviness almost palpable, and the look in Baekhyun's eyes grows more intense when Jongdae takes a step forward. 

It's Baekhyun who closes the rest of the distance, stepping right into his space and kissing him hard. His mouth moves against Jongdae's, letting out a small noise when Jongdae deepens the kiss, licking into his mouth. He can feel Baekhyun's hands coming up to cup his jaw, holding him steady and angling to bring their lips together over and over, the tip of his nose pressing into Jongdae's cheek. Jongdae's head is spinning, drowning in the heat of Baekhyun's mouth and his heart squeezes almost painfully, only just realizing how long he's really been aching to do this. 

They break off eventually, both gasping for air, and Baekhyun looks up at him, offering him that grin Jongdae's so familiar with. 

“You could have just asked,” he says, reeling Jongdae in to kiss him again, like his eyes aren't screaming the same thoughts Jongdae's been having. 

 

Keeping their hands off each other before they reach Baekhyun's room proves to be the real challenge but they manage it and Baekhyun locks the door behind them, to be safe. 

He pushes Jongdae down on the bed, working his shirt off while Jongdae grabs onto Baekhyun's belt buckle, yanking it loose. Jongdae pulls him down on the bed with him the moment they've kicked all their clothes off, hovering over him with an elbow braced on the mattress by his head. 

Baekhyun arches his neck, leaning up to catch his lips again. The kiss is slower this time, softer, more tender. It takes the rush out of the pace and Jongdae lets himself melt into it, feeling the softness of Baekhyun's warm lips pressing against his own. It doesn't even matter that this is the first time they're both completely naked together, with Jongdae fitting himself along Baekhyun's body. Even now, there will never be an uncomfortable moment between them. 

Jongdae breaks away from Baekhyun's mouth, kissing a path down the column of his neck and listens to the way Baekhyun moans softly, running his fingers through Jongdae's hair. He dips down lower, dragging his lips along Baekhyun's sternum until he gets to the scar on Baekhyun's stomach. The raised skin is pink, still not fully healed to fade away entirely. Jongdae presses his lips against the tip of the scar where it begins, kissing down along the length of it, feeling Baekhyun's stomach tense up and tighten.

He feels Baekhyun's fingers tighten in his hair, dragging lightly along his scalp. Baekhyun rocks his hips up when Jongdae reaches the end of the scar, palming the back of his neck pointedly. 

"Easy," Jongdae says, pushing his hips down with his hand. "Don't strain." 

Rolling his eyes, Baekhyun pulls him up and brings their mouths together again to shut him up, kissing him so hard Jongdae loses his train of thought completely. 

"Stop worrying," he breathes against his lips. Hooking his ankle around the bend of Jongdae's knee, Baekhyun flips them over, straddling Jongdae’s hips this time. 

"You've been worrying too much," he says, not ungratefully. His eyes are still soft. "Just let me take care of you this time." 

He dips down to kiss his throat, sliding the tips of his fingers down along his chest, sending sparks of fire searing through every nerve in Jongdae's body. His skin burns, tingling under his touch, his entire body aching for more.

Baekhyun takes charge, reaching for the lube in his nightstand and opens Jongdae up slowly, taking his time, smiling at every sound Jongdae makes. His fingers are just barely brushing along the bundle of nerves that's making his toes curl. 

Jongdae reaches down to touch too, sliding his hands up Baekhyun’s arms, running them down his chest, coming down to wrap around Baekhyun's cock, and he grins at the loud groan that escapes him. 

The push inside is slow, pushing Jongdae's thighs apart to fit in closer, his eyelashes fluttering when Jongdae instinctively clenches around him. He rolls his hips slowly, testing it, and Jongdae moans at the fullness, throwing his head back at the overwhelming heat. 

He cries out when Baekhyun starts fucking him, grinding his hips in a steady rhythm, pushing in deeper. Jongdae’s thighs squeeze tighter around Baekhyun’s sides, pulling him down to kiss him messily, moaning loudly when Baekhyun finally hits the perfect spot that makes his vision explode.

“Good?” Baekhyun pants huskily in his ear, and even the sound of that goes straight to Jongdae’s cock, so hard it's almost painful. The feeling of Baekhyun's breath in his ear sends another spike of arousal coursing through him. 

He tightens around Baekhyun in response, laughing breathlessly at the way Baekhyun whimpers and tries to glare at him.

Jongdae can feel the build up burning in the pit of his stomach, steadily nearing the edge. He cants his hips up off the mattress to meet Baekhyun's thrusts, letting the sounds of his moans wash over him, mixing in with his own. Jongdae's eyes are squeezed shut but he forces them open to look up and take Baekhyun's face in properly, to watch his expression in this moment. His lips are parted as he moans, bitten red, and his eyelashes flutter against his cheekbones, unable to keep his eyes open, looking so blissed out it sends another spike of electricity zinging through Jongdae. 

He comes untouched all over his stomach, crying out hoarsely as Baekhyun fucks him through it, riding out his own orgasm until he comes too moments later, finally slowing to a stop. 

Baekhyun pulls out slowly, tying the condom off before discarding it and slumping down on the sheets. Jongdae cleans them both up when Baekhyun makes no effort to move again, content to just lie back and let Jongdae do it. He rolls over, almost half on top of Jongdae the second he’s done, latching onto him in a way that’s so familiar to Jongdae, even if everything else about this is so different. When he thinks about it, maybe this was always meant to be the extension of where their friendship was headed, the closer they got. Something beautifully inevitable, and Jongdae wonders why it took so long to get here when it feels this good to be like this with him. To trust and care for someone so wholeheartedly that everything else feels like second nature, moving with the ease of something that never was and never would be difficult. 

It feels like a bubble has finally popped in his chest, one Jongdae hadn’t even realized was there up until very recently. Baekhyun just has that effect on him. 

“You’re thinking too hard again,” Baekhyun murmurs where his face is nearly buried in Jongdae’s neck. “And here I thought I’d blown your mind.”

Jongdae laughs easily, nosing at Baekhyun’s forehead where he can reach. “Don’t flatter yourself, Byun.”

That gets Baekhyun sitting up, eyeing him with something heated in his expression again, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. 

“Is that a challenge?”

Jongdae sits up next to him and kisses him hard without preamble, drowning in the soft heat of Baekhyun’s mouth again, under the gentle touch of his hands.

▸

“We really need to do something about these masks,” Baekhyun says offhandedly, trudging along the dusty path ahead of them. 

“What do you mean?” Jongdae asks, grabbing at Baekhyun’s elbow to steer him left where the signal is coming in the strongest on the electromagnetic wave device in his hands. Kepler-452b is a lot more humid than their last stop, and Jongdae’s starting to wish he’d worn less clothes under his jumpsuit. They split up into smaller groups when they landed to cover more ground; Baekhyun and Jongdae are taking the south while the others spread out along the other areas. The Vivapolo radar has been amped up since their last stop on Earth, useful for when they need to do a full sweep of the land they’re exploring before actually setting foot on it. None of them want a repeat of what happened last time. 

Baekhyun stops in his tracks, turning around abruptly and Jongdae walks right into him, nearly dropping the device. Baekhyun’s hands immediately come up around Jongdae’s waist, just barely teasing the curve of his ass through the fabric, pressing their hips up close together and Jongdae feels his throat go dry. 

“For example, I really wanna fucking kiss you right now,” Baekhyun says, his voice going low as he says it. Jongdae can see the way his pupils dilate. He leans in closer, as if to do just that, but their oxygen masks clack together, keeping them apart, and now Jongdae sees Baekhyun’s point. 

Biting his lip thoughtfully, Jongdae tucks the device back into his bag and backs Baekhyun up against the wall of rocks behind him, flattening himself against him. 

“There’s always this,” he rolls his hips slowly and Baekhyun hisses, his hand flying up to grab onto his nape, his fingers sliding into his hair. He grins, tugging at Jongdae’s hair encouragingly and Jongdae obliges him, pressing their crotches together again, feeling a spike of heat in his stomach. Baekhyun’s biting down hard on his lip, the skin coming out red and slightly swollen when he releases it and Jongdae just wants to do it himself. Fucking masks. 

Baekhyun’s hips push off the rocks behind him, meeting Jongdae’s as he presses forward, eager for the friction. He’s still grinning and Jongdae slips a hand down between them, sliding a finger down the length of Baekhyun’s growing semi erection through his pants, pleased when his mouth falls open in a quiet groan. 

“Hey, did you guys find any- what the _fuck_.”

Jongdae jerks around to find Kyungsoo standing there a few feet away looking disgruntled. 

“Are you going to defile every surface around us now?” He deadpans, folding his arms. He’s already walked in on them making out and groping at each other three times, once in his lab and twice in the kitchen when he was trying to get a snack. Needless to say, he’s less than impressed. 

Jongdae flushes sheepishly but Baekhyun, being Baekhyun, slides his hands right down to grope Jongdae’s ass blatantly , grinning at Kyungsoo over Jongdae’s shoulder. 

“You can’t stop our love, Kyungsoo!” He cries out dramatically, clutching Jongdae closer to him. Jongdae’s stomach swoops hard but Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and walks away, disappearing around the corner where he’d come from. 

“Interesting word choice there,”Jongdae comments, drawing back a little to look at Baekhyun’s face properly. His lips are still curled up in a grin but his eyes are soft, looking up at him warmly. 

“Did I lie?” He asks, his hands sliding up to settle on the small of Jongdae’s back, thumbing at the base of his spine. 

“No,” Jongdae beams, settling into Baekhyun’s hold properly. “No, you didn’t.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed it! TOT


End file.
